How To Ensure Your Company's Diversity Training Is Inclusive Of Your Racist Employees
Over the past few years, more and more employers have come to recognize the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. This has led to a proliferation of workshops and trainings to help organizations become more aware and accepting of all of the people who work for them. And in corporate America, a lot of those people are racists. Because they are an oversized, pasty patch of the rich tapestry of the workplace, below are some tips to make sure they feel included too.
First, don’t say anything that might make them feel bad, or cause them to reflect on their thoughts, behaviors, or interactions in any way. Racist people typically don’t like to have their racism pointed out to them. Instead, think of ways to actually help them see their racism as not really racist at all. Reframe their microaggressions, and even their regular-ass-aggressions, as a harmless mistake anyone could make, using a term like “accidental whoopsie doodle.” That way, if someone is offended by what they say, it’s actually the offended person’s fault for not realizing it was just a repeated obvious harmful and offensive “mistake.”
Next, emphasize that everyone holds stereotypes and biases, so your white employees can instantly feel comfortable telling long stories about their experiences of reverse racism. (As we know, reverse racism does not exist, but the fantasy of it is important to uphold for certain groups, much like Santa or the Tooth Fairy.) This lesson will help them think that they can relate to the experiences of their colleagues of color and learn that the time someone assumed they liked country music is exactly the same as their co-workers of color being systematically paid less than them for doing the same job.
Third, train your workers of color how to harness their white colleagues’ racism to build bridges and ensure that racist voices are heard. If someone makes an assumption about their race or ethnicity, whether accurate or not, teach your employees to thank the person who made the assumption for taking an interest in a lowly person like themself. Encourage those workers of color to ask follow up questions about what the person thinks about the race and/or ethnicity they've been assumed to be, and to be sure to listen to all their judgments without judgment.
Finally, remind workers of color that it takes all of us to eradicate racism in the workplace, primarily them. They can play their part by ignoring, downplaying, and even making excuses for their colleagues’ racist words and actions. Remember: the easiest way to eradicate racism from the workplace is to train your employees to pretend it doesn’t exist.
